Lisbon, May 1, 2025 (Lusa) - Portuguese workers have a higher level of education than employers, with around a quarter receiving the equivalent of the national minimum wage, according to a study by the Pordata database on the profile of workers in Portugal.
The number of workers in Portugal stands at 5.1 million, with one third of these (34%) having at least higher education. This percentage compares with 28% of employers who have completed this level of education.
"Within the European Union, of the 23 countries with data available for 2024, Portugal is the country with the highest proportion of employers with no education or basic education in the total number of employers," the study says.
The EU average is 16%, while in Portugal 42% of employers have the lowest level of education, "a percentage still significantly higher than Malta (34%), Spain (32%) or Italy (31%)".
In 10 years (between 2014 and 2024), the study also notes that there were 700,000 more workers with higher education, representing an increase of 61.8% compared to 2014, when those with this level of education represented 25%.
Among the more than five million workers in Portugal, 302,000 are foreign nationals, mainly from countries outside the EU27. This number has almost tripled in 10 years, with 197,000 more than in 2014.
In terms of remuneration, the profile of Portuguese workers drawn up by Pordata for May 1st shows that the average annual salary in Portugal is the 9th lowest in the European Union, with the average salary in Spain being 30% higher.
At the top of this list of average salaries is Luxembourg (€81,064), followed by Denmark (€67,604), with Portugal at €22,293 - a figure that exceeds Latvia, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Greece and Hungary.
It should be noted that this figure was calculated to take into account adjustments for part-time workers.
The study also shows that a quarter of workers receive the national minimum wage, which is the 10th lowest of the 22 countries with a national minimum wage (when measured in purchasing power parities) and taking into account the figure in force in 2025.
"In two decades, Portugal has been overtaken by Poland, Lithuania and Romania," reads the same document, which details that around one in four workers in Portugal (22.8%) had a base salary equivalent to the national minimum wage in 2022.
The proportion of workers receiving the minimum wage was higher that year among women (27.1%), young people (36.1%), those with basic education (32.9%) and foreign workers (38.0%).
The study also states that between 2019 and 2023, the average wage in Portugal, in nominal terms, increased by 24%, while in the same period, house prices rose by 45%, according to the House Price Index. In the EU as a whole, these two indicators rose by 16% and 23%, respectively.
With regard to the business fabric, the document states that small businesses are the majority in the country, but employ only 44% of workers.
Large companies, on the other hand, are responsible for more than one million jobs, having recorded a 14% increase in their workforce over the last two years.
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